20th Avenue, West, Calgary, Alberta

Hand-tinted photograph of residential homes on 20th Avenue which later became Royal Avenue. These houses are situated in the Mount Royal area. A new sidewalk is in front of the homes. Telephone poles line the street. Residence in foreground, left, owned by A.J. Sayre (717 Royal Ave.)

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Hand-tinted photograph of residential homes on 20th Avenue which later became Royal Avenue. These houses are situated in the Mount Royal area. A new sidewalk is in front of the homes. Telephone poles line the street. Residence in foreground, left, owned by A.J. Sayre (717 Royal Ave.)

Verson, handwritten: "Calgary 14/10/14 Well what do you know about the "Braves" now? Some class, I followed every game on the electric board here. Don't forget to write.// H.MCS

“Then & Now” columns appeared weekly in the Calgary Herald between 2002 and 2005. The following article appeared December 17, 2002.

Then: Royal Avenue (20th Avenue S.W.), Mount Royal District
• Between 1905 and 1911, the Canadian Pacific Railway developed Mount Royal as an elite residential district. Around 1906, American businessmen living and working in Calgary built the first homes along Royal Avenue, between 6th and 7th streets S.W. The area became known as American Hill, a name that quickly vanished when CPR registered a 1907 subdivision plan with street names of Upper Canada's British rulers.

Now: Royal Avenue
• Over the past 30 years, many Royal Avenue mansions have been demolished to accommodate construction of apartment and condominium developments. Remnants of the original river stone fence still border parts of Royal Avenue. Only one of the houses pictured in this early postcard still stands.

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